A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to the use of a Wireless Universal Provisioning Device (WUPD) for the activation of wireless communication devices.
B. Description of the Related Art
After purchasing a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, the user must have the device activated or provisioned for use. Provisioning is the programming of a wireless communication device for use by the owner. Several conventional systems have been proposed for inserting provisioning information (e.g., secret privacy and authentication keys, or unique operational information) into these devices.
The user/carrier key management infrastructure for the authentication-based wireless system uses a key hierarchy generated from a user""s unique authentication key (A-key). The A-key is, for example, a 64-bit value used to generate a user""s temporary authentication keys as well as privacy keys for data, voice, and messaging. There are currently several proposed and implemented approaches for A-key generation and distribution.
In one approach, the A-key is generated by the Service Provider and input to the device using either manual entry by the customer or electronic distribution at the point of sale. This approach requires training of sales agents, which is costly for stores, and extra time for each purchase, which can better be used for selling. Customers could manually enter the keys, but this method is considered unacceptable to the wireless industry because it leads to difficult key distribution mechanisms, and because the industry believes that many customers may find this extra task unacceptable.
In the case where the key is distributed through electronic mechanisms, wireless devices currently use a data port of the provisioning device to load and unload device information through a data cable. This data port is not standardized for most types of equipment, especially for wireless devices such as cellular telephones.
In the cellular industry, for example, cellular and Personal Communications System (PCS) telephone manufactures typically include data ports that are unique and proprietary in their handsets. In some instances, the same manufacturer will have different data port form factors for different models of their handsets. In order to provision multiple makes and models for cellular and PCS handsets, a provisioning device must have many connectors and/or adapters to enable activation of any particular telephone. Additionally, different makes and models of cellular and PCS telephones use different communication protocols for activating the telephones, requiring a provisioning device to support protocols for a wide variety of telephone models.
An example of one conventional provisioning device requires cables and protocol information for each wireless device to facilitate provisioning. Operators must sift through many connectors and follow an extensive and confusing menu to use the proper provisioning protocol. Additionally, some manufacturers refuse to provide programming protocol information for their wireless devices, thereby preventing the provisioning device from programming certain makes and models.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional system 100 for provisioning a wireless communications device 108 using a conventional provisioning device 106. The system 100 includes a Service Provider 102, a provisioning device 106, and a wireless telephone 108. In general, the term xe2x80x9cService Providerxe2x80x9d refers to the computer that manages the network in which the wireless telephone operates, and the term xe2x80x9cprovisioning devicexe2x80x9d refers to an electronic device that programs the wireless telephone to activate the telephone for use.
In the conventional system 100, the Service Provider 102 generates the provisioning information to activate the wireless telephone 108. The Service Provider 102 sends the provisioning information to the provisioning device 106 via the PSTN 104. The provisioning device 106 downloads the provisioning information into the wireless telephone 108 (either cellular or PCS) through a physical connection.
Retailers found it cumbersome to use several different types of equipment for provisioning existing wireless equipment, while further requiring new devices to provision new telephone models. Since these different makes and models of telephones operate in the same network, using the same air-interface communications protocol, some systems found it more efficient to use the standard air interface to provision each telephone, thus eliminating the provisioning device""s need to handle multiple connectors and protocols.
One of these systems uses an Over-the-Air Service Provisioning (OTASP) approach. Using this approach, a cellular/PCS network service enables provisioning of telephones over the air using network protocols. FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 that implements OTASP. The system 200 includes a Service Provider 202, a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) 210, a base station 212, and a wireless telephone 208. In general, the MTSO 210 is responsible for connecting all the wireless telephones 208 to the PSTN 204 in a cellular system, while the base station 212 serves as an interface between the MTSO 210 and the wireless telephone 208.
In the system 200 of FIG. 2, the Service Provider 202 sends encrypted provisioning information to the MTSO 210, via the PSTN 204. The MTSO 210 passes along the provisioning information to the base station 212 via a land line. Finally, the base station 212 sends the provisioning information (over the air) to the cellular telephone 208.
A major disadvantage of this approach is that the transmissions between the telephone 208 and the base station 212 are susceptible to eavesdropping. To prevent the successful interception of provisioning information, cellular networks usually employ computationally expensive and time consuming cryptographic processes to encrypt the provisioning information.
Specifically, OTASP uses collaborative key generation and dissemination by the wireless communication device 208 and the Service Provider 202, or carrier, after purchase. It does not require the manufacturer to perform unique operations for each telephone. The ultimate goal of OTASP is to enable a potential customer to purchase a wireless communication device that activates almost instantly without the hassle of waiting for or dealing with an activation agent. In order to activate the customer""s communication device, the carrier must input a unique A-key into the communication device in an unobtrusive, but secure manner.
Public-Key technologies, such as the RSA key exchange and the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, have been considered to provide secure A-key distribution in cellular networks. Although these public-key technologies have advantages, there are significant disadvantages to cellular telephone manufacturers, cellular switch manufacturers, cellular carriers, and most importantly cellular subscribers which affect the security, performance, and efficiency of the cellular network.
One such problem with these public-key technologies is their susceptibility to a man-in-the-middle (MIM) attack. In a MIM attack, a hacker uses a scanner to intercept the signal emitted from a wireless telephone in order to fraudulently obtain the telephone""s electronic serial number from the signal. The hacker can program a cellular telephone with the stolen serial number in order to charge another person for his personal telephone. Both the Diffie-Hellman key exchange and the RSA key exchange are susceptible to these attacks. A MIM attack is possible using existing commercial technology and could be implemented relatively inexpensively. Diffie-Hellman key exchange enables rapid determination of a MIM attack, but allows attacks by hackers which cause service to be denied to a new subscriber, which in turn may be unacceptable to Service Providers.
In both RSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange, the encrypted A-Key is transmitted over the air interface between the Service Provider and the new subscriber. Because the A-key is being transmitted over the air, it may be susceptible to cryptanalysis. Both RSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange also require exponentiation, which is computationally intensive for an 8 or 16-bit microcontroller within existing wireless communication devices (e.g., cellular telephones). For instance, each exponentiation in a Diffie-Hellman key exchange may require two or three minutes of computation time within a cellular telephone, forcing an OTASP session to last four to six minutes. This six minutes would essentially be dead time in which the new subscriber and carrier would have to wait for voice or message privacy before the subscriber can safely provide important personal information, such as a credit card number.
In these systems, each wireless communication device is required to perform computationally intensive exponentiations. In order to reduce exponentiation time and alleviate the main Central Processing Unit from excessive work, an Arithmetic Processing Unit or Public-Key Digital Signal Processor may be added to the device, increasing unit cost. Each wireless communication device may also use a dedicated Random Number Generator chip to provide the secure random number generation required by a Diffie-Hellman key exchange, also increasing unit cost. This additional hardware may reduce the battery life and performance of the devices. Also, additional hardware may be required at the switch to perform random number generation and exponentiation.
In view of the problems in the conventional systems, there is a need for a provisioning device that (1) reduces network loading and activation delays, without compromising provisioning information (e.g., A-key) transfer security; and (2) eliminates the need to handle multiple connectors and protocols.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to meet the foregoing needs by providing systems and methods that efficiently and securely perform provisioning of cellular telephones and other wireless communication devices.
Specifically, a system for meeting the foregoing needs is disclosed. The system includes at least one wireless communications device having a standard wireless interface, and a wireless provisioning device that provisions the wireless communications device. The wireless provisioning device uses the standard wireless interface to transfer the provisioning information to the wireless communications device when both devices are at close proximity. The provisioning device comprises a computer, having a memory and a processor, which executes a method for provisioning the wireless communications device, and a radio transceiver connected to the computer for transmitting the provisioning information to the wireless communications device.
Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description provide examples and explanations only. They do not restrict the claimed invention.